Reloading the .40 S&W

[goldenlight]

It depends on what gun you are shooting, for Glocks stick to the minimum load or starting grains. You don't want to blow up that plastic gun. I use 155gr with Unique and it seems to work good in any gun I have including the Glock. I have never had a cycling issue with any of my reloads.

Spoken like someone who knows little, or nothing, about Glocks.

 

[tlen]

I've always heard it's a Kaboom around the corner loading 180 gr bullets in .40 S&W. With the high pressure the .40 S&W operates at any setback or decrease in OAL can cause a severe pressure increase and apparently the 180 gr bullets cause more problems. Thus, only load 155 gr bullets and feel that's more than I need. I save the 180 and 200 gr bullets for 10mm.

 

[OKFC05]

I've always heard it's a Kaboom around the corner loading 180 gr bullets in .40 S&W.

Never heard that one before--source???
Most action pistol competitors use 180gr bullets and HP38/231 or Titegroup, according to published statistics from USPSA/IDPA.
The .40S&W cartridge dominates in Limited and Limited 10 USPSA competition, with rarely any problem with ammo.

Now 9mm Major in Open, THERE's a kaboom waiting to happen.

 

[bnewc75]

sr4756

I followed Skip's advice and developed some nice loads for my steyr m40a1 using SR4756

 

[Skip Sackett]

Thanks!

I followed Skip's advice and developed some nice loads for my steyr m40a1 using SR4756

I had a KB in a Browning High Power with 180gr LTC bullets. The weight of the bullet had absolutely nothing to do with it. It was an overcharge of powder that caused it. It was a book load too and not one from an older manual!

I had a thread about this a while back where I tried to explain how to load for a firearm with an unsupported chamber.

I can tell you this too, nothing less than a 180gr bullet is going to find it's way into any of my 40S&Ws. Knowing the equipment and how to load for it is paramount. Oh, by the way, I load for a Glock 22.

Check the Hodgdon data site. Look at the lighter bullets then the heavier ones. The loads have pressure data too. Don't the lighter bullets show 32,000CUP/PSI as well as the heavier ones?

I want lower pressure with more velocity. See any powders that consistently give those kinds of results?

Yeah, SR4756.

Running away from a certain weight bullet or caliber because there are idiosyncrasies with it is pretty "sissyfied" in my opinion. One of the things that makes us different that animals is we are able to reason. A God given attribute, let's use it!

 

[epj]

Well, I just loaded 50 rounds of 180 gr. FMJ over 5.0 grains of Universal. The Lyman manual listed loads from 4.8 to 5.5. Hodgdon lists from 5.0 to 5.8 on their website. The 5 grains of Universal fills up the case to the point that while a double charge is possible, you'd have to insert a bullet with your eyes shut. 2X 5.8 would likely overflow the case.
I am using a Lee FCD to crimp the bullets and doubt there will be a setback problem. However, it's certainly something to keep an eye out for during load development.

 

[dwhite53]

I've had good luck running Clays under 180 grain cast bullets. Makes good groups and has a moderate recoil pulse. For minor loads it's perfectly safe. It's easy to double charge a case with it but being fully conscious of what you are doing while reloading should eliminate this. If you're looking to make major loads there are better powder choices.

Clays is awesome as a target powder with 158 grain bullets in 38 Special.

Can you say "Clean"? It is incredibly clean burning powder

All the Best,
D. White

 

[Faulkner]

I use range brass exclusively, 99% of it Glock fired. I only use 180 grain JHP or FMJ's and have over 9,000 rounds of trouble free ammo using Titegroup, and another 1,200 with Power Pistol all loaded on my Dillon 550.

Loading .40 S&W is not any harder or any more dangerous as long as you don't try to make major with it. If you want a 10mm get a 10mm, but don't load your 40's hot.

 

[jimbo-indy]

My favorite powder for heavy (180 gr) bullets in the 40 and 10mm is Longshot. Max load form manual will crono at around 1050 FPS from my High Power 40 with a 180 gr. Rainier plated flatpoint. Out of the CX4 Storm carbine it ran 1350. Same load shoots very well out of my 610 revolver. I've switched to Longshot for 40, 10 and 45 acp as long as heavy for caliber bullets are used.

 

[JRWnTN]

I've always heard it's a Kaboom around the corner loading 180 gr bullets in .40 S&W. With the high pressure the .40 S&W operates at any setback or decrease in OAL can cause a severe pressure increase and apparently the 180 gr bullets cause more problems.

How does this make sense? If you're using the same powder for 180 gr. and 155 gr. loads, don't you use more with the lighter bullet to reach the same velocity? Why wouldn't the lighter bullets have the same setback issues?

 

[DJINCO]

I loaded 150 rounds this weekend using Unique and 180gr Laser-Cast bullets.

I shot them all Sunday. No Kabooms, nice group, not overly rough recoil. No bulging of the cases, ejected from the cylinder very well.

Hard to fathom that a kaboom is around the corner.

BTW, it was a 610.

The 10mm in 180gr with 6.0gr of Unique was a load to remember!

 

[ShrinkMD]

How fast should they go?

I loaded up a ladder of charges using Power Pistol and 180 gr lead truncated cone bullets. I previously did this with Federal Primers and seated to 1.125"
The 5.8 gr averaged 937, and the best SD was with the 6.4 gr load, which ran at 1015 fps and had a SD of 6.9 This was in the middle of January, however, so I was concerned what these loads would run like during the summer.

I then recently made up a new batch using CCI primers, and seated out a bit further (with no functioning problems in my 4006TSW) I got the following results:

CCI Primer, 6.3 gr Power Pistol, Avg 982 SD 6.8 (and this was in 80s-90s)

Does this load seem too hot? I'd like something which approximates factory without stressing out my gun/brass. The Wolf regular steel case 180 gr fmj was running 877 fps, and Aquila 180 FMJ 1030 fps

 

[handgunner356]

If you are using the 4006 you should be seeing slightly lower velocities from the factory 180gr ammo, something like 880-940fps range. If you got the 1030 out of the Aquila 180 it was a hot batch for sure. Watch loading longer as the main problem is feeding inside the mag tube, I usually see binding with flat nose bullets around 1.135". You might also see chambering problems with lead jamming against the rifling too soon loaded long. I only load 40 to make major power factor which is 920fps with a 180gr, I wouldn't push it much past 950 out of a 4" gun myself.

 

[epj]

I loaded a batch of 180's with 3.6 gr. of Clays and took them to the range today. They shot very nicely and ran at an average of 874fps with a very tight spread. My chrono doesn't record all the extraneous data, but it seems like the extream spread was less than 20. I'll likely load a lot more of those.

 

[ShrinkMD]

Yes, the Aquila is way too hot. It didn't shoot well, and the brass gets ruined after firing. The rims get ruined, since they won't fit into my Hornady shell holder. The do fit into the shellplate on my LNL progressive, but they will not go into a wilson case gauge after being resized. So there is something bad about the ammo. I have not had problems resizing other brass shot through the gun (no glock guppy bulges or anything like that). So yes, the Aquila is junk.

Actually the Wolf shoots nicely, with a better SD.

According to the Lyman manual, all their velocities are out of a 4" tube, which is the same length as the 4006, right?

 

[Model 15-4ever]

Loading .40 S&W is not any harder or any more dangerous as long as you don't try to make major with it. If you want a 10mm get a 10mm, but don't load your 40's hot.

I don't quite understand this comment. Only 920 fps with a 180 grain bullet will make Major (PF 165). I recently chronographed a Winchester factory load with the 180 grain BHP bullet that did 1050 fps out of a Glock 22. If the factory does that safely, I'm sure a handloader could get over 100 fps less than that safely.

A .40 can easily make Major. Even a 165 grain bullet only needs 1000 fps. Hodgdon lists loads with every bullet that makes Major.

 

[robocop10mm]

I segregate brass. Pin fired brass goes right to the Dillon, gets full length sized and loaded. Striker fired brass goes through the Magma Case Master (push through sizer) first.

I use 5.0 gr Red Dot and a 175 gr Truncated cone cast bullet I make in a Lyman 4 cavity mold. Blend is 6 parts wheel weights to 1 part Linotype.

 

[flatander64]

where did you get the reloading data for your 170gr swc. I cast 175 gr swc with my lee molds and would like to use hp-38 or 700x

 

[BLUEDOT37]

Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook #4 & Lyman 50th have 175gr lead data.

W231/HP38:
---------------
4.3gr -> 5.8gr,
- @ -
863fps -> 977fps

.

Buy more reloading manuals.

.

 

[bigedp51]

I am about to add the .40 S&W to my reloading inventory. I don't see a lot of posts on this forum on the .40, and at the local range the amount of .40 brass on the ground in relation to all other calibers leads me to one of two conclusions: (a). not many folks reload .40, or (b). .40 is so popular that the reloaders pick up all they want and there is still a ton of it left.

Anyway, I am planning to use 175 gr. cast bullets. I'll probably use either Clays or Universal for powder. For lighter loads Clays will no doubt get the nod. It works great in .45 and I have a ton of it on hand.

I have ordered the Lee deluxe die set with the factory crimp die, and also a Lee six cavity mold for the bullets. As soon as Dillon gets to work this morning, I'll order a caliber conversion for my 550. I looked at my Lyman manual to see if there were any comments out of the ordinary concerning the .40 and didn't se any. Is there anything I need to look out for regarding the .40 that differs from .45 ACP or 9mm?

I have a Glock 22 .40 S&W Gen 3 and have "NO" problems with bulged cases.

Below on the left is a early Glock .40 barrel with over twice the unsupported chamber as the new barrels. Two things happened when the "Glock Bulge" started. The factory changed the feed ramp design and the case and cartridge manufactures made the brass thicker in the base.

The only Glock bulged brass I find at the range are from non-reloaders who never had the factory replace the older type barrels.

And after reading this posting you can see many "myths" that were started by people who do not know what they are talking about.

And if you pick up any badly bulged cases in any caliber do not reload them. Sizing these type cases weakens and over works the bulged area and the case can fail at this point.

The Deluxe Lee 4 die set with the factory carbide crimp die is a bad choice with oversized cast bullets. The carbide ring in the base of this die will size the case again and reduce the cast bullet diameter.

I shoot jacketed and plated bullets with a .400 diameter, without problem with the lee carbide crimp die. The carbide ring will size the case "again" at and below the taper crimp if it is excessive and bulged. And the carbide ring will size the entire case around a larger diameter cast bullet. And this reduces the bullet diameter and hurts accuracy and bullet grip.

Almost everyone says they do not trim their pistol brass. And the Lee deluxe factory crimp die with the carbide ring compensates for different length cases. This is a cheat for the varying crimp with different length cases. And the carbide ring irons out any bulged crimps on the longer cases. Bottom line this Lee die was not designed for cast bullets.

If you are going to shoot cast bullets then seat and crimp in separate operations. And not use a die that sizes the case again after seating and crimping. Meaning use a standard taper crimp die.

And most of my practice loads are .40 Lite loads.

Make Right With a ".40 Lite"

The Lite loads are good for practice, and are easy on the pistol and brass.

The lite loads also do not fly far and are easier to find. If the cases near your feet are still hot then its your brass.

P.S. With my new Ruger Vaquero I do not have to hunt for my fired brass. And it has a over sized feeding ramp that doesn't hurt the brass.